Page 142 of Under the Waves
The bat fell to the floor.
I felt the noise of it smacking against the wood deep in my bones.
Everything went quiet for a second and I could finallybreathe.
The sound of the pill bottle cap hitting the wooden floorboards disrupted the silence.
Pills bumped into each other.
A handful scattered in her palm.
Then down her throat.
“Now, if you steal from me again, I’ll make sure it’ll be your face instead of this door, yeah?”
I didn’t mean to take the pills.
They were lying on the floor at the foot of the couch.
My mother’s body was lifelessly draped over it.
I took it without thinking.
I just wanted her to realize she didn’t need them.
Not when she had me.
It didn’t matter, though.
She wanted the drugs,
she just didn’t wantme.
I shook from head to toe, completely and utterlyterrified.
I just wanted my mom back.
Why couldn’t I just have my mom back?
Gathering all the strength I had left, I pushed myself onto my feet and pushed open the small bathroom window. I had to get out of here before she picked up that bat and decided to finish me off for good.
I had to.
Scrambling onto the sink, I hooked one of my legs through the window before pushing my head and upper body through it. Clasping onto the drainage pipes, I swung my other leg though the gap before letting go and jumping down onto the grass. Pain shot through my body, but I brushed it off, along with the dirt staining my knees.
And before I knew it, I was running.
All the houses along my street blurred.
I didn’t know where I was going but I knew I had to get away from there.
Fromher.
I wasn’t going to die.
Not today.
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